Some time ago I wrote about screen door closers as being gone the way of buggy whips. Here is an excerpt:

Wooden screen doors are still seen today, and some even have spring hinges or long coil springs to close them as in days past. Others are closed by pneumatic cylinders that soften the arrival of the door against the stop. Remember the closers of old that were mounted on the door trim about halfway up and grabbed the closing door and pressed it against the stop for good? No slam and no rebound.

The closers were spring loaded to two positions, so that when the door was opened it also opened the closer. Its spring held it open until the door came back, at which time the closer flipped to push the door against the stop and hold it there. I have not seen one in a long time, but they worked very well every time. They did not require delicate adjustment as the modern pneumatic closers do. Sometimes the pneumatics slam the door, then open it and slam it again. This is progress?

I decided that a screen door closer was just what I needed to hold the door open on my new tool shed that I built. Jim Cowan did not have one in his store, but he remembered them. Then I saw one on friend Ed Weeks screen door and commented on my need for one. Ed went down into his basement and came up with a brand new closer! I first showed it to Jim, who ordered some for his store. Now you know where you can get one, too. If you need one.

I finally installed the closer on the shed and it works fine. The reason for the delay is that I put the thing somewhere and then could not find it. Of course I found it while searching for something else. For those of you who have not seen one, the photos show how the closer works.

No one likes to hear doors slam, so the modern pneumatic closers are probably a good thing-when they work right. But there is no slamming involved with my shed door. I gently push the door into the closers grasp when I open it, and then just as gently pull the door out of the closer to close it . . . Now, is that confusing, or what? I am using the closer to hold my door open. Havent I told you before that I dont think like normal people?